


Cherry Blossoms and Choices

by stopmopingstarthoping



Series: Lucis Military Academy [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College, F/F, Military, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 16:48:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14773415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stopmopingstarthoping/pseuds/stopmopingstarthoping
Summary: Aranea and Crowe settle into familiar patterns, and discover more about one another.





	Cherry Blossoms and Choices

Crowe rifled through her backpack. “Damn. I left my last pen at Lib’s. Can I borrow one of yours?”

“Sure. Libertus, right?”

“Oh yeah, we go way back. I stayed over at his place last night after work.”

“Hm.” Aranea got up and busied herself tidying something in the bathroom.

“This one doesn’t work. Do you mind if I use the -” Crowe walked into the bathroom, pen in hand, and noticed the look on Aranea’s face reflected in the mirror. “Are you _jealous_?”

“Of course not! We’ve been hanging out for like, a month. I don’t own you.”

“Oh Ifrit’s asscheek, Aranea, Libertus is a _brother_. It’s not like that.”

“It’s fine, Crowe, you don’t have to justify anything to me.” Aranea continued to pretend to clean the sink.

“He lives by the ‘Bones and I was working late, and my landlady screeched at me the last time I let myself in at two a.m., and he came in to grab dinner and a beer, and we were catching up, and, you’re - this is - Six save me this is so _cute_ , Aranea. I’m sorry.” Crowe’s giggle bubbled through her words.  

Aranea managed to pout and grin at the same time, somehow. Crowe came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Aranea’s hips. “I'm into _you_.”

Aranea turned around. “I’m into you, too. But we’re not exclusive or anything, and you don’t have to be.”

“What if I want to be?”

“Please don’t say that just because I was weird and jealous for a hot minute.”

“No, really.

I'll admit I’ve had my moments. Tredd makes it _really_ obvious that he wants to fuck you. He talks about it a _lot_. Even before you and I got together.” Crowe rolled her eyes and waved her hand.

Aranea snorted and flopped onto her bed. “Not in a million years, and I think you know that.”

Crowe shrugged. “But you live right here with some ungodly gorgeous people too.”

“And I haven’t dated them, and I don’t want to. We’re friends.” It was Aranea’s turn to roll her eyes. Jenner’s tall, golden good looks made several people on campus clamor for their number. Aranea was used to it.  “ _Everybody_ wants Jenner; it’s tiring. Yes, they’re gorgeous. Yes, they know it. We’ve been friends long enough that I know their deal. I respect Jenner, and we have a lot of fun, but noooope. No chemistry.”

Crowe looked confused. “I thought you’d be more into Salix.”

“Ah.” Salix was a petite brunette, with ringlets everywhere and a soft voice. Aranea ticked things off on her fingers. “A. Chews with her mouth open. B. Straight as an arrow. C. Boring as fuck. I love her, but you couldn’t get a rise out of her if you tried. I need a little more fire, thanks.”

"So." Crowe drew out the word. "How many people _have_ you been with?"  
  
"Enough to know my way around," Aranea started, boldly, but rolled over and sat up. She looked at Crowe with wide, honest eyes. "Barely."  
  
Crowe laughed. “You do all right,” she said, peeking at Aranea from under her lashes.  
  
Aranea sat up. "What about the other guys from back home? You ever date any of them? Nice looking dudes."

"No. Definitely not. They're like my brothers. Plus, I'm not into dick."  
  
"No?"  
  
"Nah, not really. I mean, don't get me wrong, guys can be really beautiful. Just, y'know, not my thing. Besides, _girls_." The last word was full of wonder as she climbed into Aranea's lap and kissed her gently, staring at the round tops of her breasts. "I'm honestly kinda confused how you can just be into anyone."  
  
"I'm not into just anyone - I have _standards_. Why do you think you're here?" Aranea kissed Crowe back, enjoying the different feel of reaching up for her. Crowe was usually shorter, and Aranea closed her eyes as brown waves caressed her face.  
  
"But seriously - I never saw myself with someone I knew when I was young, either." Crowe sat back a little, settling herself.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I dunno, I just have a big flinch there. I’d rather come to a relationship as a full grown-up." Crowe let out a self-deprecating laugh.    
  
Aranea cocked an eyebrow. “A full grown-up with no pens and yesterday’s shirt, huh?"  

Crowe pushed her, playfully. Aranea swayed, but didn’t fall back.

Aranea latched on to one of the words Crowe had said, and it bounced back through her mind. “Relationship, huh?  Is that what this is?” Aranea searched Crowe’s face.

Crowe looked down and to the side, picking at an invisible piece of fluff on Aranea’s bedspread. “Is - that what you want it to be?” 

Aranea took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

Crowe looked back up and met her eyes, and this time Aranea leaned back and pulled Crowe on top of her. They lost themselves in a sweet, soft kiss that seemed to stretch out for hours. Late afternoon sun warmed them, and Aranea felt the impulse she’d felt before with Crowe, that she wanted to stop time like a photograph. They broke apart, and Aranea tucked strands of dark hair behind Crowe’s ear. Crowe settled in next to Aranea, fitting her body in with her curves and pillowing her head on Aranea’s shoulder. Aranea looked over to see Crowe’s gaze traveling over the smooth pale skin between her breasts. She caught Crowe’s eye, and they giggled.

Crowe trailed a finger along Aranea’s collarbone. “Where did you grow up, anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about your hometown.”

"I'm from all over, really. Military brat. Mom was from Tenebrae." Aranea tucked the arm that wasn’t holding Crowe under her head.

Crowe’s glance flicked up to her hair. She smiled, and Aranea looked down to catch her eyes again.

"Yeah, thus the hair. She moved to Lucis when she was little, and she met my dad - here, actually. As sappy and ridiculous as that sounds. He was Lucian, though."

"Both past tense?" Crowe's tone was careful, and kinder than Aranea thought she'd ever heard it. Crowe stopped lightly touching her chest and settled a warm hand over the soft cotton covering Aranea’s stomach.

"Yep. War is a bitch." Aranea felt herself tense and was annoyed. It had been _years_.

Crowe nodded. Aranea waited for her to ask about Commodore Highwind’s plaque in the hallway on campus, but she didn’t. Crowe did grab her hand and squeeze. "I'm glad you got to know them."

"Me too. Thirteen years with my mom, fifteen with my dad - it's a lot more than some people get." She forced a casual tone and willed herself to relax, accept facts she’d known for a long time.  

"Yeah." Crowe snuggled a little deeper into Aranea's shoulder. Aranea had her suspicions about Crowe but had never gotten past these types of gentle hints.

"What about your family? Are they cool?" Aranea was never good with subtlety for long.

Crowe laughed, a short barking sound. "You've met ‘em. Lib, Nyx, Pelna - that's my family. They're not cool; they're complete losers, but they're what I've got." She smiled affectionately.

* * *

“Chocobos.” Aranea read off the term and waited for a response, spinning idly in her desk chair.

Crowe’s head dangled off the couch and onto the floor; her bare feet slung over the back. She pulled in a breath and puffed it out while she put her hands over her eyes, trying hard to remember everything.

“Two primary roles:  cavalry and support. Shorter stamina period if used as heavy cavalry. Secondary attack role, but only in dire circumstances. Eats - some kind of greens. Damn.” Her hands slapped at the couch, annoyed, and dark brows pulled together.

Aranea smiled. “Pretty close. It’s gysahl greens, and there are some other specific types too, but that should be good enough for your quiz. They move you on to cavalry formations yet?”  

“We just started, so it won’t be on the test. It’s going to suck, though.” Crowe sighed loudly and scrambled around to sit up normally. She reached for the controller next to her on the couch. “Time for a break?” Her tone was hopeful and teasing.

Aranea laughed. “Your call. I’m starving. Pizza?”

“Aranea, we just ate, like - “ Crowe looked at the clock. “Oh, I guess it has been more than three hours.” She rolled her eyes lovingly. “Cue the bottomless pit.”

Aranea was already on the phone.

A few hours later, Aranea patted her stomach happily, having eaten several slices after Crowe was done. She went to reach for the game controller, but Crowe stopped her.  “Wash your hands, you ingrate.”

Aranea cackled. “Bossy. Start the game up again?” Crowe nodded. She’d already tidied up after herself, and she clicked through menu screens while Aranea headed off toward the bathroom.

Crowe started a new game, and Aranea rejoined her on the couch, grabbing the second controller. Crowe waited while Aranea set up, laying a hand over the back of the couch. Her gaze crept over to Aranea, and she stroked the side of Aranea’s neck with a finger, just to the side of where her ponytail danced against her skin.

Aranea twitched and pulled up her shoulder, hiding her neck. “Hey, I’m trying to select armor here.”  

Crowe just hummed and moved her hand down, tracing swirling patterns under Aranea’s sweatshirt.

Aranea turned her head and raised her eyebrows, questioning. Crowe’s palm slid possessively around Aranea's neck and pulled her close. The softness of her lips made Aranea sigh, and she absent-mindedly deposited her controller behind her as she turned into Crowe fully.  

Crowe's tongue slid easily, lightly, past Aranea's lips, and Aranea sat up straighter to return the kiss with a little heat. Aranea's hand slid to Crowe's hip and squeezed. Aranea broke the kiss for a brief moment, hovering close to Crowe's face.

“All you had to do was ask.”

“Isn't that what I'm doin’?” Crowe tipped her head and twirled Aranea's silver strands around one finger.  

Aranea cupped the side of Crowe's face in her hand and drank in the deep, sweet coffee brown of her eyes. Crowe gave her a breathless smile, and Aranea scooted closer on the couch. She turned her body to graze Crowe’s, making Crowe slide her fingers under the base of Aranea's ponytail and let out a small growl.

Crowe's other hand reached to circle Aranea's waist, and Aranea responded, slinging a leg over Crowe to climb into her lap and press her fully into the back of the couch. Crowe's back arched, and Aranea's breath sped up at the feel of those gorgeous breasts against her own.

Aranea kissed Crowe insistently, and she felt muscles tense beneath her. Aranea's hips ground down onto Crowe, and Crowe chuckled low in the back of her throat.

Aranea felt Crowe's hand slide around from behind her to spread fingers over her breast. Aranea hummed into the touch, and her hips rolled again. She kissed down Crowe's tawny neck, and watched Crowe shiver at her touch. Aranea teased with lips and tongue and nipped once, then twice, at the sensitive point just above Crowe’s shoulder.

“Six, you're fucking gorgeous.” Aranea's eyes were wide with wonder for a moment before she returned to running lips over skin, and Crowe just let out a light sigh in response.

Aranea moved her hands to Crowe's shirt, pulling up the hem with one hand and lightly brushing under the shirt with the other. She looked at Crowe with a question in her eyes, and Crowe sat up and pulled the shirt off over her head.

Aranea's breath caught in her throat. She looked at the uncharacteristically lacy bra, looked back at Crowe, and said, “You did this on purpose.”

Crowe shrugged lazily. “So maybe I did.” A dark, smoky gaze met Aranea's, and Aranea fanned pale fingers across the delicate pink confection. Transparent pink flowers cupped perfect breasts, and Aranea's lower belly clenched at the sight of dark nipples through the sheen of the fabric.  

“Well played,” Aranea breathed, “and thank you.” Reverent fingers fluttered over the fabric, and she enjoyed the way Crowe strained up for more contact.

A flash of lust suffused her chest, and Aranea’s mouth darted back to Crowe's neck. She sucked a bit harder, and her hands slid inside the bra to make direct contact. The soft give of breasts under her calloused fingertips was exquisite, and she could feel Crowe's nipples already starting to harden. She rolled one experimentally and was rewarded with a harsh gasp.

Aranea gave in to the strong impulse to replace her hand with her mouth. She pulled down the embroidered fabric and sucked a nipple between her lips, licking lightly. Needy hips bucked up into her, and Aranea gave Crowe a naughty grin. She pulled away and made a flicking motion with her fingertips. “Pants….off.”

Crowe unbuckled, unzipped, and looped her thumbs through the sides of her panties, looking at Aranea with her own wordless question. Aranea nodded eagerly, and when Crowe pushed her clothes down her legs, Aranea stood up to pull them off her feet and drop them to the floor. She kissed Crowe lightly on the lips while reaching around to take off the pretty pink bra. Once the back was free, she slid her hands loosely under the straps and pulled it off, setting it gently on the couch next to Crowe. Aranea breathed eager air onto the exposed skin, caressing with greedy palms. She lapped and sucked at one nipple, then the other, until Crowe was making desperate little noises beneath her.

Aranea knelt down on the floor in front of the couch  and smoothed her hands up beautiful, muscled thighs. She bent her head to kiss the inside of one thigh, then the other. She figured she'd teased enough, and settled in, spreading Crowe gently with her thumbs. She leaned close and sighed into the slick pink folds, moving her tongue up slowly and firmly. Crowe squealed and grabbed her hair, and Aranea let out a muffled giggle and continued, enjoying the writhing and sounds Crowe gave her. Aranea narrowed her tongue to a point and flicked at Crowe's clit, waiting for a reaction.

Crowe covered her mouth, and squirmed, panting Aranea's name. Aranea slid the tip of a finger inside, and Crowe grabbed her wrist.

Aranea stopped. “You okay?” She searched Crowe's face.

“I - that's good. Just - not too fast.” Her voice was raw.

Aranea nodded and moved more slowly. One knuckle, then two. Crowe held to her tightly wherever she could reach, which was mostly her hair. Aranea didn't mind.  It was a small price to pay, to grasp Crowe's leg, to bury her mouth next to her finger and listen to the glorious sounds Crowe made. Aranea continued to worship Crowe, learning the rhythms of her body and the melody of her voice.

Aranea sucked, pulling Crowe's clit into her mouth, and Crowe whined. She rocked her hips faster into Aranea, who responded by flattening her tongue, letting Crowe grind against it, keeping one finger sliding slowly and back. She thought, she hoped, that Crowe was close. She wanted to push her over the edge and watch the gorgeous picture she made. Aranea felt trembling in Crowe's legs and squeezed her own thighs together in response.  

Crowe’s body, though, seemed to almost peak and retreat. Aranea watched and listened, continuing to lap gently, then more firmly. She teased a little, pulling back and moving forward, and curled her finger inside Crowe, rubbing at the rough patch under her touch.

Crowe let out a yelp, and Aranea grinned. She felt the telltale shaking in Crowe's legs again, and sped up with her, lapping and sucking and burying herself in the rise and fall of Crowe's pleasure.

Crowe's mouth dropped open into a round shape of ecstasy and her back arched off the couch. Aranea stayed with her as long as she could, pressing into Crowe's clit and making small movements that made Crowe wrench and gasp. Aranea throbbed between her own legs feeling Crowe tense around her finger.  

A final twist of the hips, and Crowe was coming down, fluttering her eyes open and fixing a glassy gaze on Aranea.

“Holy... Six, Aranea.” Crowe tried to get her breath back and just smiled.

Aranea clambered up into the couch next to her and trailed fingers along Crowe’s arms and chest, drawing out little aftershocks like sparks. Crowe raised her arms weakly to pull Aranea in for a kiss, and Aranea devoured Crowe's mouth. She knew Crowe would taste her own wonderfully subtle, warm juices and she hoped Crowe would find it as hot as she did. Aranea felt Crowe’s lips curve under her own in a lazy grin.

“Astrals, that sure turned you on didn't it?” Crowe's voice held wonder and admiration.

“Fucking Shiva, yes. You're beautiful.” Aranea's voice was shaky and her breaths felt like they were tripping over each other.  She kissed Crowe again hungrily, and felt a hand snake between her legs.

She unabashedly ground against it, wondering if Crowe could feel the wetness through her leggings. When Crowe slipped a hand inside Aranea's panties, Aranea grasped Crowe's other hand and pulled it under her sweatshirt.

Crowe’s eyes widened and she laughed. “And you’re not even _wearing_ a bra.”

“Nope.” Aranea didn’t even attempt nonchalance as her chest moved up and down in uneven gasps.  

A sable eyebrow arched, and Crowe dipped her fingers inside Aranea's wetness. “Wow.” Crowe closed her eyes and stroked and Aranea bucked with pleasure. She felt Crowe react to her, learning and responding in return, and Aranea lost herself in sensation - Crowe’s smaller, softer hands; the messy scent of the two of them; the fiery burn of desire in her core. The more she tried to linger, the faster her body plunged forward.

Crowe’s fingers moved faster. “Come on, baby.  You got all hot watching me, huh? Show me how you come apart for me?”

Aranea whimpered. Crowe leaned forward to kiss her, hard, as Aranea broke open and shattered in Crowe's hands. 

* * *

Crowe was brushing her teeth one morning, after having slept over again, when Aranea brought it up.

“You should just move into my room.”

“I should what?” Crowe coughed a little bit and spit out her toothpaste.  

“No, you're right, that's weird, it's too soon. Forget I said anything.”  Aranea threw herself onto the couch, vaguely mortified and annoyed with herself.

“No, I legit didn't hear you, you adorable dumbass. Did you just ask me to move in with you? We've been dating like two -” Crowe walked out of the bathroom when  Aranea interrupted her.

“Six weeks, I know. It's too soon, and I'm an idiot. I was just thinking, given your weird house situation -”

“Yep, just worried about my logistics. Absolutely. Nothing to do with you wanting 24/7 access to this booty.”  She dropped herself into Aranea's lap, wearing just a t-shirt and panties. It was a familiar place for Crowe to be already.

Aranea was a little stunned. She wasn't, exactly, saying _no . . ._ Her hands unconsciously caressed the cotton-clad curve of Crowe’s ass.

“Yeah, it's a little rushed, but, it feels right.  If I can find a subletter, I will take you up on that,” Crowe said.  She kissed Aranea lightly, tapped her on the nose, and got up to put on pants. She tossed over her shoulder, “But you will have to pick up your socks.”

“Not a chance,” Aranea smiled from the couch.


End file.
